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Place to recover from jet lag in Venice?

I know it is advised to arrive a day or two before a tour begins to recover from jet lag, but due to other constraints, my family of 4 will be arriving in Venice the morning that our Best of Venice/Florence/Rome starts. If we arrive around 9am, is there some kind of lodging around the airport that we could simply rent for a few hours to shower and take a nap to recharge?
Thanks so much!
Michelle

Posted by
13809 posts

Why wouldn't you go directly to your tour hotel? If you wanted to make sure you had a room you could reserve it for the night before and let the hotel know you would not be there until the AM.

Posted by
23178 posts

You realllllllllyyyyyyy do not want to take nap if you are adjusting your time clock. Go to your hotel, check you bags, and hit the streets. Maybe around 3 pm return to the hotel, your room will probably be available, then take a brief nap of two hours or less.

Posted by
795 posts

There is the Best Western Titian Inn Hotel Venice Airport- only 900 meters from the airport. Book for the day BEFORE and mention that you will be checking in at 9 the next morning. This way they will have your room ready when you arrive (since check in is later in the day). Also, request that you be served breakfast in your room upon arrival. They have a breakfast buffet but your arrival time would make you miss out otherwise on the full offerings. www.titianinnvenice.it/en/home-page.aspx

Likely you would be unable to check in to your tour hotel until the whole tour group does at 4 pm so it is wise to pop into this hotel to clean up and stretch out and have some food.

Posted by
795 posts

@ Pam and Frank: Michelle said her family of 4 is going on the RS Best of Venice/Florence/Rome Tour. They can't check into the tour hotel until 4 pm with the rest of the group when the tour leader checks them in. Also, that tour will go on a walking tour first thing after check in so she is wise to want to be able to shower, lie down, eat, etc then meet the tour group at 4 at the tour hotel. After the walking tour, they will have dinner so there would be no time for rest until late.

Posted by
13809 posts

I understand they will be checking in to the tour hotel. Many times you can book extra nights at the tour hotel so I was just suggesting they do the same thing at the tour hotel instead of a hotel at the airport as you suggested, by reserving the room for the night before.

Most of the RS hotels are excellent about keeping your luggage before you check in and that is what Frank suggests.

Also, on RS tours the tour leader does not check people in to the hotel. You get yourself to the hotel and check in individually saying you are with the RS tour. Later in the tour when the group arrives by bus there is a group check in, but not on the first day.

Posted by
5835 posts

Best (for me) would be to get to the hotel and have them hold your baggage. Then walk around Venice hopefully in bright sun. Check in at the appointed hour reclaiming the carry-on that you left. Objective is to get your body onto local time. Napping just delays the time transition. Now that said everyone is different.

Posted by
693 posts

Why not try contacting the hotel and see if they might allow an early check in?? It is worth asking before you pay for an extra night's accommodation. I have done this a couple of times successfully in Rome due to flights arriving early morning.

Posted by
973 posts

You have many variables going on here. If it were just you two, I'd say check your luggage at the hotel and force yourselves to stay up. However, you are bringing your children? How old are they? Your adrenaline might keep you up when you get to Venice. If you do crash, it may be really hard on you and the kids to awaken.

The only time I went to Europe I was 20 with my parent. Dad forced us to stay up, which wasn't terrible, but I was done at 7 p.m. And he let us go to bed. If the OP doesn't let the kids sleep for a few hours, they might be in bed at 7 and up at 3.

Hmmmm. I think if you do want to nap a little, you will need to book the room for the day before and notify the hotel like the other poster said.

Posted by
247 posts

I would recommend checking with the hotel where your RS tour begins and see if you can arrange for an early check in or pay for an extra day (the day before you arrive) so they'll have a room available for you in the morning. Once in your hotel you can take a shower and change clothes to re-hydrate/refresh but you must not sleep! Having a reversed sleep schedule is a really terrible thing! Your hotel can direct you to a quiet part of town where you can walk and explore Venice. Enjoy lunch and a gelato while you are out. Food + staying moving will help combat the jet lag.

Posted by
3 posts

Sorry - didn't note the questions - My sons are teenagers, one gets a migraine when he doesn't get enough sleep. I was just hoping for a 30-minute power nap but maybe just a shower will suffice.=

Thank you sooooo much everyone! My concerns are now alleviated!!! When do you find out the name of your hotels on the tour?

Posted by
13809 posts

The names of your first and last hotels come pretty quickly after you book, in my experience. You can also call the RS office to see if they know the first hotel on your tour yet. I think one of the office folks posted on the forum one time that they try to finalize all the hotels by March. (I might have made that up!)

I would definitely have the migraine son take a power nap if that can head off any problems. It does take quite a while to get to the hotels from the airport since you will have to use either the Alilaguna ferry or a vaporetto so it may be mid morning when you arrive. A short nap, then out and about for lunch may be what works for your group.

This is going to be a great experience for you all! I did Heart of Italy with my brother, SIL and their 2 sons (ages 20 and 25 at that time) and we had such a wonderful time together. Really, really, really a fun family memory!

Posted by
23178 posts

I am curious Terri Lynn, how many Rick Steves' tours have you participate in? Pam's comments are more accurate. Our experience is that if the room is available (cleaned, etc.) you can check in early. Many times we have been able to check in at noon, one time as easy as 10 am. So I would just show up and ask. The worse thing that will happen is that they will storage your luggage for a few hours. Jet lag affects different people in different ways but a general consensus is that bright sunlight is critical to resetting the clock. For us an hour and half/two hour nap around mid afternoon is very helpful is keeping us going to a normal bed time the first night. Prior trips many years ago we would try to hold on till 8 or 9 oclock . But it was a struggle. For us staying activity outdoors in the AM and early PM, a brief mid PM naps, and then a normal evening works great. The next day still a little sluggish but by the third day it is over.

Posted by
16893 posts

Any hotel will allow you to check in early if the room happens to be cleaned and letting them know your flight arrival time certainly won't hurt. Any hotel will also hold your bags if the room is not ready. Without question, the tour hotel will do both of the above.

Posted by
8377 posts

When we took VFR tour, the people who arrived that same day were nodding off during the long dinner. But its not mandatory - if you don't feel up to it, don't go, or leave before dessert arrives. Minor inconvenience.

In my experience, most people who take a nap when they get there have their internal clocks messed up even more, and are wide awake at 3:00AM. The next night too.

Posted by
13809 posts

I just thought of something that is not in your original line of questioning, but I'll add it anyway. Since you've got a couple of boys who may be hungry, do make sure you've got some snacks for them to munch on if they do wake up in the middle of the night or early AMs. No matter how much I try to tell my stomach it is not time to eat because we are in a different time zone it does not listen, lol. The worst time is early AM. I am usually ready for breakfast about 5 and most European hotels don't start serving until 7 or 730.

Posted by
11613 posts

Pam's suggestion for snacks is a good one. Bottled water, too, it's crazy how dehydrated one can get on a long flight, even if drinking water during the flight.